Aerial View of Minsk

Sender: Anya

Text on card: Independence Square. Minsk's Independence Square is one of the largest in the world, measuring an impressive 450 x 150 meters. The administrative centre of the Belarusian capital was outlined in 1929-1933 when the monumental Government Seat was built to the design of architect I.Langbard. The Lenin Monument sculptured by M.Monizer, appeared in the square in 1933. In the 1960's the face of the square changed dramatically: older houses, dating back to the XIX and early XX centuries were knocked down to have enough space for the new high-rise buildings of Minsk Executive Committee, Minsk City Council and main building of Belarusian State University. Minsk Subway Directorate and the tower of Minsk Pedagogical University were built twenty years later, in the 1980's. Stolitsa, a modern underground three-level trade and recreation centre with a marvelous pedestrian precinct on the surface, was completed in 2006. St. Simon and St. Helen Roman-Catholic church, one of the most touching symbols of the capital, also known as the Red Church, was erected in the early XX century.